There are times when we must go through negative situations. Maybe people say something negative about us, or they show rejection or even resentment against us. In such situations, it may be difficult to stay positive. We may be inclined to react negatively to them. That won’t do us any good though; doing so will just make the situation worse. People may behave even more negatively to us. Our day would be filled with anger and disappointment. At the end, nobody wins.

Though it’s not easy, it’s important to stay positive in negative situations. Beat the negative situations by staying positive. Here are 15 tips on how to do it; pick the ones that work for you:

Never respond when you are not calm. If you are not sure that you are calm, don’t respond. Take time to calm yourself down first.

Take a deep breath as a first step to calm yourself down.

Speak in gentle tone to reduce the tension of the situation.

Realize that you can find opportunities in negative situations. Albert Einstein said: “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.”

Look at the content of what people say to you for something positive that you can act upon to improve yourself. Don’t just reject the whole messages.

For the rest of the messages which is negative, simply ignore it.

Maintain positive view of the people. Maybe you don’t like their messages or behavior, but that doesn’t mean that you can hate them personally.

Realize that having negative feelings will just hurt you, not them. So there is no reason for you to have any negative feeling.

If you make mistakes, be open to admit it.

If you make mistakes, remember this quote by George Bernard Shaw: “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”

If you can, listen to motivational audio program to feed positive thoughts into your mind.

Talk to a positive friend who can encourage you.

Remember your favorite quotes to give you inspiration and motivation. This is one reason why you should have quote of the day.

Look at the negative situations as your training sessions for real life. The higher you climb in life, the worse the negative situations would be, so you’d better be prepared for them.

Realize that you can’t please everyone. In fact, nobody can. Sometimes you need to just let some people go. Realizing this will relieve you from a lot of unnecessary burden so that you can focus on the people that you can positively interact with.

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Published on September 10, 2007

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Thanks for this article.
Today has been a tough day for me, and it’s Valentines day– how ironic!
Anyway, I’ve been talked about behind my back today, and this article made me think that there are worse things that could’ve been said or done. Either way, I am still a little upset about the situation but thanks for the tips. I’ll try not to let the negativity get to me.

Hi, thanks for this article. I’m just wondering if you could give some advice of the positive audio programs mentioned? I grew up with a strong faith but have lost it, so need some replacements to my old beliefs, and having difficulty finding positive recordings. Thanks!

I just was in a situation with my sister, her adittude made me feel negative and I reacted the wrong way not thinking I sould have said something positive to change her thoughts.Knowing positive things to say rubs off.

Great tips here! One I would like to add…..reduce stress and laugh more! The less stressed you are and the more you laugh, the more positive your attitude will be overall. As an author and professional organizer I am consistently sharing ways to do both. :-)

Well it’s difficult to stay positive with all the outside pressures of everyday life, kids, family your partner and off course the pressures of money always play a big part. I’m one who thinks positive, try not to think the worst, I believe in calling the bad and projecting the good.
Big part of staying positive is love, yes with work it can conquer all.
We need to take a step back, two to the side in order to move forward, with help from the one you love you/we/I can do it.

Find those people who are like-minded in their overall goals and build each other up, rather than contributing to their downfall. In the bad times are where true friends are found. You may find more ROI on this than any stock tip!